May

29

Big List of Green Web Hosts

Filed Under Green | 


Welcome to the first edition of my Big List of Green Web Hosts. There are 22 here, and I am sure there are more out in the world that can be added later. I only included hosts with English language pages and specific information about what they are doing to be "green."

I will be updating and fine tuning this list as I get more information. As some point I'll be putting together definitions for some terms like carbon neutral, carbon credit, green credit, carbon offset, off-grid, carbon fixing and possibly more - doesn't seem fair to feed nonspecific information to a nerdly audience. Also in the works are interviews with some of the providers.

Here they are, 22 green web hosts in alphabetical order:

  1. Athenaeum Ecological Hosting offers 100% green hosting by using energy credits to buy wind generated power. Hosting is accomplished through a solar powered data center in California. Their offices are in West Yorkshire, in the UK.
  2. A2 Hosting buys carbon credits from Carbonfund.org to offset their server emissions. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  3. Acorn Host is a reseller, which means that they buy their hosting from a larger organization. They also buy carbon credits and give discounts to nonprofits. Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
  4. AISO offers 100% solar powered hosting, from energy that they produce themselves. Uses energy efficient servers. In 2006 AISO was featured in Inc. Magazine's Top 50 Green Companies. Located in Romoland, California, East of Los Angeles
  5. CWH, Canada Web Hosting, saves 90% on electricity costs by using Lake Ontario for a Deep Water Cooling system., with the help of the Toronto-based energy corporation Enwave. Facilities in Toronto, Canada
  6. Dreamhost calculates all possible environmental impact and then buys Renewable Energy Credits from ecologically sound power sources such as wind, solar, biogas or geothermal, as well as Emission Reduction Credits. Located in Claremont, California.
  7. EcoSky is a solar energy producer. Their offices are partially powered by renewable energy, through their own solar power as well as purchased renewable energy credits. In case of shortfall they purchase wind-powered energy credits. Uses energy efficient equipment. Located in Portland, Oregon.
  8. Go Green Hosting uses green certificates and "other renewable energy technologies," such as wind power. Located in north eastern Oklahoma, USA.
  9. Green WebHost offers a solar powered option. They operate a virtually paperless office and are also an ISP. Aims to be better than carbon neutral. Plants a tree for each new broadband and web hosting customer. Located in the UK, though the solar-powered data centers are in the US near Los Angeles.
  10. Greenest Host uses 100% solar power, with propane and conventional on-the-grid energy to power their backup systems. "Our servers are located at a state-of-the-art data center just 90 miles northeast of San Diego in Romoland, California." Greenest Host is located in San Diego, CA.
  11. Host Papa purchases enough wind and solar green energy certificates to completely offset greenhouse gas produced by their electricity providers. Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  12. Ilisys is provides 100% carbon neutral hosting through solar and wind energy credits. Also plants trees to offset unavoidable pollution such as commuting by staff. Recently bought by MYOB. Offices and datacenter in Perth, Australia.
  13. Iron Mountain produces their own solar power, though I've read elsewhere that they also purchase energy credits. Located in Ponoma, California.
  14. Lightbeing Creations uses 100% renewable energy. They use a 100% solar powered datacenter in California, and have wind-powered offices in Trowbridge, between Bristol and London.
  15. pair Networks is carbon-neutral through green a carbon credit program. They also operate an energy efficient office that is an exceptional-sounding healthy working environment. Offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  16. Planet Mind uses solar and wind power, "provided by a grid-intertied solar array." Office located in Nederland, Colorado.
  17. Rackspace buys green energy credits and is investing in building green dataservers. Rackspace in London is carbon neutral through tree planting, and has green plans for a campus in San Antonio and a datacenter in England. Rackspace's datacenters are located in San Antonio and Dallas in Texas, Herndon Virginia, and London, with offices in San Antonio and London.
  18. Solar Energy Host is off-grid and 100% solar powered - no carbon credits. They use a data center located in Romoland, California. Offices are in British Columbia, Canada.
  19. SustainableWebsites is 100% carbon neutral through purchased RECs (Renewable Energy Credits) from the Mountain View Wind facility in San Gorgonio Pass, California. Profits from web hosting services are re-invested in SustainableMarketing, a unique community giving green entrepreneurs advice and tools needed to bring their marketing to a professional level, in an ethical and sustainable manner. Uses a datacenter in Dallas, Texas, and another in New Jersey. Offices in San Francisco, California.
  20. Thinkhost is 100% carbon neutral through wind and solar green energy credits and conservation. Their social responsibility page says they offer free and discounted hosting to non-profit community groups. Offices in Portland, Oregon.
  21. WebCtel is a small solar energy producer. They use their energy to power two services: web hosting and an ISP. Located in Cambridge, MA.
  22. WebHostingBuzz is carbon neutral, through tree plantation projects, in partnership with the International Tree Foundation. Headquartered in Delaware, USA

Got suggestions and additions? Please leave a comment here or contact me.

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Comments

19 Comments so far

  1. Tim Nash (3 comments.) on May 29, 2008 11:48 pm

    As someone who has spent many years attempting to do my bit to change the way I and my company work I find the idea of carbon credits scary. I know it’s a wonderful PR stunt but their really is no such thing as Carbon neutral you can be “Carbon friendly” by taking steps to reduce your carbon and other emissions such as through solar panels, wind turbines etc. Once you have done all you can for your building you look to the local community to help, this is not offsetting you don’t earn credits but you see your local community dealing with the problem and trust me, if your looking for a publicity shot, your CEO and other work mates down a peat bog helping to dig it out wins every time.

    Companies that use carbon credits alone, rather then taking even the most basic steps to reduce their own footprint are in my eyes worse then those that do nothing, I wonder if I started to dig into this list how many of these companies come close to being carbon friendly?

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  6. Ross (2 comments.) on May 30, 2008 8:28 am

    Sorry to burst your bubble but most of these guys aren’t really green but just buy carbon credits which are still controversial. The only true green host on your list is http://www.aiso.net who is powered entirely by solar.

    If you want another host that is trying to go green check out http://www.nexcess.net

    Ross

  7. AbleReach (72 comments.) on May 30, 2008 8:59 am

    I had hesitations about carbon credits, too. Then I started to notice how careful some hosts were. They actually did energy audits before deciding how much of a carbon offset they needed. Imagine a business committing to buying enough carbon credits to offset their pollution, and NOT being more aware of how you could lessen that pollution?

    Take the idea into your own home. Imagine doing an energy audit at home and detailing your own carbon production, then committing to buying carbon offsets for that. No way would you not at least recycle better, or consider more ecological purchases to be an investment.

    Carbon credits are a way that a business can put their money where their mouth is. It’s a step, a reachable, do-able step.

  8. Tim Nash (3 comments.) on May 30, 2008 9:18 am

    come on, at least be honest, it is a way of buying themselves out of guilt, if they genuinely wanted to help the environment they would take the painful steps, and even just change their business practices. A simple example we include on our billing statement (which is electronic) how much carbon we used doing what ever job it was. We don’t offer that so they can run off and buy a tree in a far flung part of the world but so they can genuinely see how much it is costing. But we then offer them the chance to assist us on local projects but also to carbon match.

    Carbon credits works by saying that guy doesn’t pollute like I do so I will pay him to not pollute or to do something Green while I carry on with my gas guzzling ways. That is a lot more dangerous then the person who hasn’t faced the issues yet, these are people who faced the issue and decided they couldn’t be bothered.

  9. AbleReach (72 comments.) on May 30, 2008 9:31 am

    @Ross - Thanks for the referral to netexcess. Do you have a link where they describe how they’re going green? I didn’t see information on their site, but maybe I missed it.

    AISO isn’t the only energy producer on the list. They’re one of the oldest and biggest hosts that make their own energy, but they’re no longer the only one.

    Green energy credits are another idea whose time has come. Every house on the block can’t make their own energy, but they are hooked into a power grid. Eventually, what’s to say that grid can’t be supply clean, renewable energy? Electricity produced by wind or solar is the same as electricity produced by other means. In the meantime, green energy credits are one way that renewable energy producers can be supported.

  10. Ross (2 comments.) on May 30, 2008 9:42 am

    Able,

    Sure you can check out this link:
    http://www.nexcess.net/company/green-web-hosting.php

    Can you tell me what other company besides AISO is actually generating their own solar/wind power. I know http://www.imountain.com is as well but is there anyone else really?

    Ross

  11. AbleReach (72 comments.) on May 31, 2008 6:45 am

    @Ross - From your link, it looks like NetExcess doesn’t buy carbon credits to offset their pollution, but they are using 10-25% renewable energy through green energy credits. I commend them on their start.

    So we’ve set a goal to be using 100% renewable power by December 1st, 2009. As a first step we’ve enrolled in Detroit Edison’s Green Currents program - we’re now using 10% renewable energy from wind, solar and biofuels, and will be using 25% by June 1st, 2008.

  12. James Farquharson (1 comments.) on June 2, 2008 1:47 am

    http://www.smartbunker.com

    Zero carbon energy - wind powered.

  13. Tim Nash (3 comments.) on June 5, 2008 3:33 am

    Just something to mull over http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7436263.stm

    Perhaps you might consider reorganising the list so those who actually are taking steps to reduce their own carbon emission and environmental damage are in one group (you could call it the green list), and the Carbon Credit buyers who are not reducing their carobon footprint but off setting into another (I will let you chose the name, scam artists would be my choice).

    Just a thought :)

  14. AbleReach (7 comments.) on June 5, 2008 8:16 am

    Tim, I was just thinking about that this morning. :-)

    My big, monster to-do list includes doing interviews with web hosts and collecting more specific information. I want to indicate which are carbon neutral, which are carbon reducers, and which are making an effort to get closer to carbon free. Of the carbon neutral, I was impressed by those who did a conscientious pollution audit to assess a plan of action. They seemed most likely to take other “green” measures.

    Doubt you’ll see the label “carbon scammers” applied here. I’d have a hard time assigning a label for intent, from hundreds or thousands of miles away, without having met the people involved. I’d rather spend my time figuring out how to honor the effort in a fair way - the reverse is way too depressing, and where’s the future in that?

  15. isabella mori (1 comments.) on June 18, 2008 7:50 pm

    this is PERFECT! i was just looking for a list of “good” hosts. and very proud to see that the canadian one is run by my brother-in-law.

  16. Nikkole(new comment) on July 5, 2008 2:23 pm

    I didn’t see this list until after I commented on your first post. You do have quite an extensive list. As someone who has recently gone through 16+ green hosts (rejected 2 or 3 that weren’t located in North America, since that’s where I am and most visitors to my site would be), I can appreciate the amount of time that went into this. I also have (so far) a series of 4 posts planned (2 already published, 1 scheduled for Sun 7/6) to provide as much info as possible all in one place.

    You have some here that I didn’t have. After having my initial 18 or 19 hosts and already extensively into sorting through them, I came across a couple more, but found it overwhelming (and thought it would be so for anyone looking at the list as well!)

    I will make note of this post and check back for your updates as well.

  17. Green Human(new comment) on July 7, 2008 9:06 am

    If you are interested in green news and events to, from or about the Seattle, Washington or Pacific Northwest, or just want to check out another voice in the green movement, check out http://www.greenhuman.org. Thanks and live green!

  18. Dan(new comment) on July 14, 2008 3:06 pm

    Hiya,

    Thanks for including my company, Lightbeing Creations, in your list of green hosting providers. There’s just one point I’d like to make and that is that fact that we don’t buy energy credits. Our hosting is 100% solar powered and our UK office is powered through wind power!!

    Otherwise, thanks for having us on the list :-)

    Warm wishes,
    Dan

  19. AbleReach(new comment) on July 19, 2008 10:20 am

    Hi Dan! I’ve edited the post to show that Lightbeing Creations does not buy energy credits. Thanks for stopping by!

    - Elizabeth

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